Through the series of D3 debates we’ve had on this site, it dawned on me in addressing the story criticisms and thinking about the plot more deeply that Diablo almost pulls off arguably the greatest series of double crosses, manipulations and usings in video game villain history. Big Red deserves some props, and the writers behind D3 deserve some too.
As I get into this, there are 3 principles it’s important to keep in mind:
- Evil never really dies. This is mentioned here and there throughout the cannon. To simplify, it seems it exists in one of 3 states: soulstone, manifest in a physical host, or floating about in the ether somewhere.
- The Soulstones are acknowledged to be flawed. They don’t work right or exactly as intended. They hold Evil at bay somewhat, but they aren’t the final solution. Even Tyrael can’t guarantee they work the way he thinks they should.
- The single, biggest obstacle to Evil winning over Good is their constant infighting and treachery.
With Diablo 1, it’s obvious that the Soulstones can’t completely contain the Prime Evils. They only seem to slow them down a great deal. The Prime Evils can still reach out and possess new hosts. Let’s say that around this time, not only does Diablo realize this, but he also becomes aware that Zoltun is working on the super Black Soulstone. It strikes him then that he can use this new super Soulstone to finally overcome Evil’s greatest failing: divided and competitive leadership of the forces of Hell. As long as the Black Soulstone is also ultimately flawed and therefore exploitable, and Zoltun’s mortal folly of hubris ensures as much, Diablo can use it to finally unite the Prime Evils and the Lesser Evils into a single being: himself. But he’s got some work to do.
First off, he’s got to get out of Tristram and free his brothers from their individual Soulstones so that they can be captured in the Black Soulstone. So, he manipulates the king in such a way as to bring a great hero on the scene to act as a temporary carrier. He then uses the hero to use Adria as a vessel for his ultimate host, Leah. Why? Because he knows that The Wanderer is not the final answer and that the heroes of Sanctuary will eventually catch up with him. It’s also a convenient diversion from the ultimate host. The heroes will never know about Leah if they’re busy chasing The Wanderer all over the countryside. He just has to make it far enough with The Wanderer to get all the Primes free from their individual Soulstones. The kicker is that he actually wants them killed by the heroes, so he plays along with their short-sighted plan to immediately attempt a take-over of Sanctuary. He plays his own brothers for suckers. Again, why? So that they can be defeated and their individual Soulstones can be destroyed in the misguided attempt to keep them at bay once and for all thus leaving their souls in the ether to be captured in the Black Soulstone. In reality, Mephisto, Baal and indeed even his own defeat only serve to move Diablo’s plan forward in preparing for his ultimately goal: a single, united Prime Evil powerful enough to finally take down Heaven.
In his final manipulation, he uses Adria and Leah to encourage the heroes of D3 to capture his rivals, Belial and Azmodan, in the Black Soulstone thus completing the Prime Evil recipe. Once the cake is baked, he finally has the power to storm the Silver City and get so far as to almost finish off Angel-dom by corrupting their precious source, the Crystal Arch, leaving us, the players, to save the day.
It’s frickin’ brilliant. He plays his own brothers for suckers, gets revenge on the Lesser Evils that kicked him out of Hell, and manipulates the heroes (i.e. us) over the course of 3 games to do his bidding all along. Well played, Diablo! Well played!
As I get into this, there are 3 principles it’s important to keep in mind:
- Evil never really dies. This is mentioned here and there throughout the cannon. To simplify, it seems it exists in one of 3 states: soulstone, manifest in a physical host, or floating about in the ether somewhere.
- The Soulstones are acknowledged to be flawed. They don’t work right or exactly as intended. They hold Evil at bay somewhat, but they aren’t the final solution. Even Tyrael can’t guarantee they work the way he thinks they should.
- The single, biggest obstacle to Evil winning over Good is their constant infighting and treachery.
With Diablo 1, it’s obvious that the Soulstones can’t completely contain the Prime Evils. They only seem to slow them down a great deal. The Prime Evils can still reach out and possess new hosts. Let’s say that around this time, not only does Diablo realize this, but he also becomes aware that Zoltun is working on the super Black Soulstone. It strikes him then that he can use this new super Soulstone to finally overcome Evil’s greatest failing: divided and competitive leadership of the forces of Hell. As long as the Black Soulstone is also ultimately flawed and therefore exploitable, and Zoltun’s mortal folly of hubris ensures as much, Diablo can use it to finally unite the Prime Evils and the Lesser Evils into a single being: himself. But he’s got some work to do.
First off, he’s got to get out of Tristram and free his brothers from their individual Soulstones so that they can be captured in the Black Soulstone. So, he manipulates the king in such a way as to bring a great hero on the scene to act as a temporary carrier. He then uses the hero to use Adria as a vessel for his ultimate host, Leah. Why? Because he knows that The Wanderer is not the final answer and that the heroes of Sanctuary will eventually catch up with him. It’s also a convenient diversion from the ultimate host. The heroes will never know about Leah if they’re busy chasing The Wanderer all over the countryside. He just has to make it far enough with The Wanderer to get all the Primes free from their individual Soulstones. The kicker is that he actually wants them killed by the heroes, so he plays along with their short-sighted plan to immediately attempt a take-over of Sanctuary. He plays his own brothers for suckers. Again, why? So that they can be defeated and their individual Soulstones can be destroyed in the misguided attempt to keep them at bay once and for all thus leaving their souls in the ether to be captured in the Black Soulstone. In reality, Mephisto, Baal and indeed even his own defeat only serve to move Diablo’s plan forward in preparing for his ultimately goal: a single, united Prime Evil powerful enough to finally take down Heaven.
In his final manipulation, he uses Adria and Leah to encourage the heroes of D3 to capture his rivals, Belial and Azmodan, in the Black Soulstone thus completing the Prime Evil recipe. Once the cake is baked, he finally has the power to storm the Silver City and get so far as to almost finish off Angel-dom by corrupting their precious source, the Crystal Arch, leaving us, the players, to save the day.
It’s frickin’ brilliant. He plays his own brothers for suckers, gets revenge on the Lesser Evils that kicked him out of Hell, and manipulates the heroes (i.e. us) over the course of 3 games to do his bidding all along. Well played, Diablo! Well played!
